A Blast from his Past
by Yapay the Master Elite
Summary: Chris a typical 17 year old, hangs out with friends and hates going to school. but he has a huge secret and a haunting past. When his past comes back can he stop it or will he need some help from someone he just met. Edited by PY687.
1. Chapter 1

I would like to thank PY687 for the Beta read

First story, enjoy and please review

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**AI Talking"**

**A Blast from his Past**

It was 9:00 at night and Chris was walking home from his friend Carl's house after finishing a six-hour slaughter-fest on Halo 3. He shook his head and chuckled as he remembered the humiliation Carl's little sister, Morgan, had received after trying to take him on without backup. Chris stopped his saunter when he heard a whine overhead; looking all around for the source of the noise, he spotted an armoured figure in a jump-pack flying over towards an abandoned house a few yards away from Chris.

"Wow, nice landing," Chris mumbled. The figure had lost its balance while trying to land on the roof of the structure.

The figure regained balance and turned to survey the houses and road in front of the house it was standing on. Lucky for Chris, he was obscured from the stranger's viewpoint because he was standing in the shadow of a large tree.

"_I've_ _got to get to the hanger,_" Chris thought.

He moved slowly and silently through the trees before he came upon a cave. With a deft hand, he pulled back the covering of various branches and rope. Chris pulled a little keychain connected to a light bulb; after the light came into existence, he inspected the cavern. Walking further into the cave, he entered a second, larger cavern and flicked on a switch, causing light to flood through the cave. Two glass tubes on pedestals were revealed, along with a computer in front both tubes. There was a firing range and an obstacle course stationed in the room. However, Chris's attention was focused on what was inside of the glass tubes.

In the left tube, a blue-coloured suit sat; it was slender and contained purple patches, the colour mixing with the blue. The left arm had a button on the back of the hand, while the right arm had an arm cannon mounted to match the slender suit. The arm cannon was steel-gray in colour and had six cooling vents in the top. In the right tube was an orange and purple suit of armor, larger than the blue one and having more items attached to it than the blue suit, in addition to a big arm cannon in place of a right hand. Labeled on the tube of the aforementioned suit of armour were the words "Gravity Suit."

Chris walked over to the computer console and started typing commands into it; on a portion of the screen, a face appeared and an artificially intelligent being spoke. "**Good evening, Chris; how may I be of assistance to you****?**"

"Maverick, I need to know which suit is up and running. There's an important matter I have to attend to."

"T**he Gravity Suit is not fully calibrated yet, so the Fusion Suit is ready to be activated; the only problem with that one is that the weapons and abilities will have to be tested before you leave**."

"If it's the only one available, I'll choose it. Chris walked over to the left tube, labeled clearly "Fusion Suit."

A voice startled our protagonist as he made a move to open up the glass tube. "**You will need to put on a Zero suit first**," proclaimed the AI Maverick

"Oh yeah, I forgot," was Chris' surly reply. Chris moved away from the left tube and headed over to a locker across the room, which revealed two teal-colored Zero Suits. He stripped off his clothes and stepped into one of the Zero Suits. "Man, I just love these things." The Zero Suit instantly acted as a second skin for Chris, and kept him at a comfortable temperature. Chris smiled, knowing this suit will protect him from most physical harm inflicted by his enemies.

Now dressed in a Zero Suit, Chris started back to the left tube. The tube slid its glass wall up, and the robotic arms of the Fusion Suit started to disassemble. Chris stepped into the tube, and the parts fit onto him. As the last piece, the helmet, clicked into place, a holographic screen appeared on the inside; various symbols and gauges came into view. At the top of the screen showed the percentage of his shields, health, and ammo left. At the bottom were two crosses. The left cross depicted two icons, the top one showing a Combat Visor and the right one a Scan Visor. On the right cross it displayed weapon images: the top was the Power Beam, and the right one was the Wave Beam.

"**Please walk over to the firing range to test your weapons**," said Maverick.

Chris leveled his arm cannon at a floating disk target; the cannon was already set to the Power Beam so he just pulled the trigger. The Power Beam fired a yellow baseball sized shot, hitting the target and blowing it up.

"**Now try the Charge Beam capability for the Power Beam**," said Maverick

Chris pulled and held the trigger, and this time the cannon gathered energy at its tip and the shot grew twice as big. He looked down the range hallway, and a tight cluster of targets presented themselves to him. He released the trigger and the shot hit and destroyed all five targets.

"**It is now time to test the Wave Beam and **_**its**_** Charge Beam capability**," said Maverick.

Chris flipped a panel over on the side of the arm cannon; there were five buttons on it, and the colours for the active buttons were yellow for the Power Beam, purple for the Wave Beam, and blue for missiles. The other two buttons were inactive as they were dimmed. He pushed the purple button; the arm cannon widened out and the inside pulsated with electricity.

He aimed at another target and fired a shot; the Wave Beam fired three little "golf balls" of electricity that attracted and repelled each other allowing them to bounce in and out of a triangular pattern. The Wave Beam shot hit the target and destroyed it after shocking it with a jolt of energy. Maverick set up another disk and told Chris to test the Wave Beam's homing ability. Chris fired again at the target and immediately the target moved to avoid the shot, but the shot tracked and hit the target.

"**You know what's next, charge and blast the target**," said Maverick.

Chris again pulled and held the trigger and the cannon gathered electricity at its tip. He aimed at the target and released the trigger. This time, as a purple basketball sized shot raced down the range, the target tried to avoid the hit, but the aforementioned shot slowed down and moved with the target, which sped up in an effort to get away. However, the shot sped up as well and hit the target.

"I**t is now time to test the missile system**," Maverick told Chris.

"No," said the impatient seventeen-year-old

"**But protocol states that I must warn you about not…**"

"I don't have the time to test every little thing on the suit, Maverick; that Space Pirate I saw earlier could have already moved from its position," interrupted Chris. His only reply was a series of beeping noises. "Is there something wrong?"

"**Yes; I must comply with your order and let you go, so move over to the Recharge Station, and reboot your suit's system**."

Chris jogged over to the station and stood still with his gun raised. A robotic arm descended and attached to the end of the arm cannon, and Chris felt the suit get light as air as the suit's power cells were recharged to full their full capacity. The Fusion suit would enhance Chris's speed, agility, reaction time, and reduce his weight. The only weak statistic it had not enhanced was his strength.

"**So are you going to use any other systems**?" asked Maverick

"Like what?"

Maverick listed them off. "**The equipments available at this stage are Morph Ball with Bombs, Speed Boosters, and Space Jump Boots.**"

There was no hesitation as Chris answered the AI. "Of course I'm going to use them, Maverick."

"**But they will need to be tested first, or there could be complications.**"

"I know they need testing, but I don't really care right now because if that Space Pirate gets away and warns anyone then we're screwed."

Chris jogged out of the cave, not waiting for an answer. He even forgot to insert a chip with a part of Maverick that helps him stay alert in battle to all threats around him. He stopped just inside the line of trees. He was a little surprised to find the Space Pirate had not moved from his original spot, he was still there crouched on the roof. "_He must be looking for someone_," Chris thought. "_It doesn't matter; I have to take him out as fast and as quiet as possible_." Chris pressed the button for the Power Beam and fired a trio of shots at the pirate. In a small, hushed voice, he mumbled, "Let's test this guy." The Pirate looked around at the sound of the cannon firing and met the sight of three yellow balls coming right at him. He jumped from the roof of the abandoned house and activated his jump pack; he hovered in the air trying to locate the source of the shots. After he had fired the shots, Chris had crouched to the ground hoping to stay out of sight. However, it was to no avail – the Space Pirate had seen the movement of Chris crouching.

The Pirate aimed his wrist-mounted blaster at the movement and fired shots similar to the Power Beam in five-round bursts. Chris rolled onto the street out of the way and then heard the screech of rockets being fired at him. Chris jumped into the air and watched as the rockets blew holes into the road. "So much for being quiet," Chris mumbled as he looked at the Pirate. He was surprised to see a second flying Pirate next to the first. Chris fired a charge beam at them as they returned fire at him; while he was still in the air, he activated the space jump and jumped over the second volley of rockets. Chris hit the ground and rolled to avoid more blaster shots and rockets.

He rolled into the Morph Ball and rolled into a storm pipe to dodge a rocket. One of the Pirates landed to flush Chris out of his hiding spot by firing his blaster into the mouth of the pipe. The Pirate paused in his firing as he heard the ball rolling, and he saw a bright yellow ball come shooting out from the pipe right at him, Chris, in Morph Ball mode, had used the speed boost to turn the pipe into the barrel of a cannon and had "shot" himself at the Pirate. The result was the force of a train hitting a car; the Pirate was hit in the legs and he found himself face down in the dirt. It had difficulty get up because the lower half of his armour was dented and broken, restricting his movement on the ground. Chris got out of Morph Ball and taunted his enemies.

"All of your rockets missed me. Now let's see what a missile can do," With that said, he pressed the blue button for missiles and the tip of his arm cannon split into four sections. Chris pulled the trigger and a missile (with a long blue streak for a tail) flew at the weakened Pirate. Unfortunately, as the missile got halfway to its intended target, it lost trajectory and swerved off-course, hitting the truck in front of Carl's house. Chris groaned as he watched the whole thing, and he saw the door open and a person coming out to investigate all the noise. Carl's thirteen-year-old sister, Morgan dropped her jaw as she saw two flying Space Pirates – one on the ground having trouble moving, and the other in the air above the nearby abandoned house. She also saw someone in a blue-and-purple coloured suit.

There was a three-second pause as everyone looked at each other, forgetting what they had just been doing. The first one to react was the Pirate flying in the air, who swooped down with the intent of grabbing Morgan to take as a hostage. Chris was the second person to react, as he switch back to the Power Beam and started firing at the Pirate in the air to stop him from kidnapping Morgan; however, the weakened Space Pirate distracted him by firing blaster shots and rockets at Chris. Chris did a space jump to avoid the shots and ended up in the middle of the street. Angry at the outcome of the battle so far, he switched to the Wave Beam.

"Alright, no more games from now on," he yelled. He charged up the Wave Beam and pressed the blue button for missiles at the same time, so the cannon would fire a combination of the weapons, creating the Wavebuster. Instead of a large flexible beam of electricity shooting out at the pirates, the ball of electricity at the end of the arm cannon was sucked back into the gun, and the feedback from the failed Wavebuster went back up into the suit, causing major damage and throwing Chris back about fifteen feet. He landed on his back, unable to move his body save his head and left arm, his right leg feeling numb. "_Did my Wavebuster shot backfire?_" he thought. "_What the hell just happened?_"


	2. Chapter 2

I would like to give special thanks to PY687 for the beta-read and all the help he has given me.

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**AI Talking"**

**A Blast from his Past**

A shattering scream pierced the night. Chris picked his head up when he heard Morgan screaming at the Pirate who grabbed her and started to take off. Chris did his best to lift the arm cannon, but with the suit only at ten percent capacity, it was like lifting a load of bricks. Chris saw movement from the abandoned house and a figure came out. The figure was wearing armour similar to the Gravity Suit but it was orange. The figure started to fire its Power Beam at the Space Pirate, hoping to force it to release Morgan. However, the figure had to turn its full attention to the weakened Pirate because it was firing power shots and rockets at it.

"_The fighter's graceful, I'll give it that_," Chris thought as the figure used a combination of the space jump and the speed booster to dodge all the shots and rockets. Chris saw the figure charge the Power Beam and fire a Beam Combo, the Super Missile, at its enemy to finish it off. The armour-clad figure turned to the last conscious pirate with its cannon raised, but did not fire at it. The last Pirate had Morgan in its arms and was already twenty feet in the air; it was gaining height rapidly. As the pirate climbed and disappeared out of the two remaining fighters' sights, Chris saw Carl walk out of the front door.

"Aw, damn! Mom is going to be _so_ pissed about that… Now, where could Morgan be," phrased Carl, not really asking a question so much as a statement. He took a passing glance at the wrecked truck and looked around the area for Morgan. He saw the two figures: one in a large orange suit and the other on the ground in a small blue suit. The orange figure pointed up at the retreating pirate. Carl looked up, and after seeing his little sister, exclaimed, "Let's see, Morgan bitching 24/7 or dad complaining about the truck… Morgan bitching 24/7 or dad complaining about the truck…" After some more thinking, he shouted, "KEEP HER!"

Everyone could hear Morgan's screams and curses as the Space Pirate took her away. Meanwhile Carl just walked back inside and shut the door after looking at the two figures in suits one final Carl left the scene, the figure in the Varia Suit walked over to Chris and knelt down. It reached up to take off its helmet to reveal a human underneath. The head belonged to not just any human, but a girl who looked to be around the age of sixteen.

"You alright now?" she gestured with his left hand for her to remove his helmet; after she had removed it, he saw the brief look of shock as it passed across her face. "So, um, are you okay?"

As he spoke, Chris felt the metallic taste of blood coming out the corner of his mouth. "Except for my pride and the area from my chest down, I'm fine."

"Can you get up?"

"Of course – why wouldn't I be able to?" he said a little gelidly.

"Right, sorry." The girl blushed, apparently a little embarrassed. She changed the subject. "Do you know why those pirates were here?"

"I think they were looking for someone or something, but I can't be certain. I doubt their intended target was Morgan… you know, the girl," Chris stated blandly.

"But then, why didn't you kill them?"

Chris looked away, his cheeks stinging. "I meant to, but my suit wasn't fully calibrated." His hands moved up subconsciously to the back of his neck and rested there, rubbing the area for no reason.

"I saw you trying to use the Wavebuster, and then your suit malfunctioned. Is that what happened?" The dark brown-haired girl asked tentatively. Her green eyes and thin nose held a hypnotic look, and Chris found himself staring at her too long. The girl shifted uncomfortably and Chris' gaze swung towards the floor.

He replied as coolly as possible, "Well, I wouldn't know, but I believe my A.I. Maverick would be able to answer your question. Um, if you don't mind me asking, what's your name?"

"Rachel, what about yours?" the girl replied, a smile lighting her face. Out of habit, Chris returned it.

"My name is Chris."

"So, do you have a house to stay in?" Rachel inquired.

"Technically, it's not a house… but yeah, behind that house in the woods," Chris said, pointing to the abandoned house.

Rachel helped him to his feet. "Here, I'll give you a hand." She offered her left hand shyly, yet firmly. Chris winced as he put his right leg on the ground "I think you injured your leg, Chris."

With Rachel's help, Chris led her to the caves. As he leaned against the opening of the second one, she stated, "It's not much of a hideout."

Chris chuckled. "Here, let me turn on the lights." He flicked the switch, and light flooded the hanger, revealing the tubes, firing range, and obstacle course.

Rachel's jaw dropped as she took in the sight before her; it was awhile before she spoke. "So this is where you live?"

"Yup. Still not much of a hideout?" he said in a joking tone.

"I take back what I said," Rachel said, obviously offended. Her face quickly twisted into either surprise, contempt, or both.

After a few seconds, Chris could not take it anymore. "Has something caught your attention?"

"How did you get the Gravity Suit? I mean, I've looked all over the place, but haven't found any trace of it!"

"Here's the short story: Maverick scans for upgrades a few times every month, and when he finds one I go out and get it. After that, we test the modification… and if you're done gawk- er, admiring my Gravity Suit, would you please give me a hand at this tube so I can get the amour off?"

Rachel regained her posture and helped him over to the left tube in the cave. When she released him, he collapsed. "Maverick, get this suit off and give Rachel something to drink; and I think I need medical attention for my leg. The _right_ leg – that's the one opposite the left."

"**I apologize for last time.** **I will do so right away… And who did you say is your lady friend?**" Maverick responded.

"Her name's Rachel and she saved my ass-" Rachel shook awkwardly from Chris' crude language, who did not seem to notice. "-from a couple Space Pirates. Oh, the Wavebuster also failed, and that's why the Fusion Suit is beat to hell."

Robotic arms descended from the ceiling, and, after dismantling the Fusion Suit, carried the pieces off to the barely-noticeable repair room in the back of the hanger.

"**I warned you about the unchecked missile system… You will have to give me as many details as possible of what happened.**"

Therefore, Chris explained what happened with the occasional help from Rachel when he was struggling to remember. "And so, when I pressed the button for missiles the ball of electricity kinda got sucked back into the cannon and it shocked the crap out of me," Chris finished moodily.

"**Interesting… I will look into it.**"

Chris looked over at Rachel and saw her eyes moving across his athletic figure perceptible through the Zero Suit. He said in a teasing voice, "Like what you see? Maybe you could show me yours later… Nah, I'm joking." Ignoring the blush emerging on her face, he said, "Would you like to get out of that suit? Because we can store it in a spare tube while my Fusion Suit is being repaired."

Rachel's blush deepened "Um, thanks for the offer, but I don't…well, I don't really have anything on underneath my Varia Suit."

It was turn for Chris to flush. "Uh, you can take it off; that's fine with me." Rachel's face gave a half-surprised and half-disgusted face. Chris quickly improvised. "No, I mean you could use the second Zero Suit for now, if you wanted."

"Okay thanks… I think I will. So where's the other suit, and where can I change?" Rachel considered after eyeing Chris warily for a moment or two.

"In that locker over by the wall." Oh, Maverick, can you give Rachel a screen?"

There were a few beeps as Rachel walked over to the locker; once she reached it, a metal screen was placed next to Rachel, so Chris would not be able to see her change. Meanwhile, robotic arms picked Chris up and placed him on a soft bed with medical equipment around it. Another screen was placed, around him this time. Chris winced as the arms went to work trying to remove the Zero Suit to get to his injuries.

Rachel looked at the screen before her while some mechanical arms dismantled her suit and helped her into a Zero Suit. "So what does a Zero Suit do exactly?"

Maverick answered the question monotonously, almost seeming to read from a brochure. "**A Zero Suit acts as a strong, second skin; it can take a fair amount of damage before collapse or tears, and can also enhance speed, reaction time, and strength to a slight degree." **Then he spoke lowly so only Chris could hear. "**And there is a problem with **_**your**_** suit; I believe that when you were shocked from the failed Wavebuster, it became melded with your skin**."

Chris was hesitant about the benefits. "So what, exactly, does that mean for me?"

"**It means that the suit has added a second layer to your skin, and is now a part of you**. **I will have to run some more tests, if you feel it will amount to anything**." If it were possible for an A.I. to sound mocking, Maverick did it without failure.

Chris heard Maverick's tone and, for the hundredth time since he had made the Artificial Intelligence, wished he had not placed the recommended emotion chip in him. Then his mind switched back to pondering the significant details of his life, and Chris was lost in thought. "_I wonder what's going to happen to me now that the Zero Suit is a part of me. Well, there's at least _one _silver lining to it: I don't have to change my clothes anymore_."

He heard soft footsteps approach him, but he did not look around until a hand touched his shoulder. "It's alright, Chris; besides, you look good in a Zero Suit," Rachel said with a slight blush on her cheeks. At the confused, questioning look on his face, Rachel replied, "Maverick said he will be unable to remove the suit for a week or two."

"_So she doesn't know the whole thing_." He looked at her and could not help gazing at the Zero Suit. It was a bit big for her frame, and thus was low-cut. "_Wow, that's some cleavage… Wait, I can't… look… I _cannot_ seem like a pervert in front of her_."

Chris was relieved when Maverick interrupted his tense moment. "**Chris will need to have a goodnight's sleep, because he has school tomorrow. I believe you do too, Rachel, from my scans**." Rachel stiffened, and Chris thought Rachel was wondering what and when Maverick scanned.

"Don't worry; he just scans metabolism rates, adrenaline, those types of stuff." The he moaned when he remembered Maverick's words. "Great, I've got school tomorrow; I'm just going to hope that nobody notices me in a jumpsuit walking down the hallway."

Rachel tapped him on his shoulder "So where am I going to sleep?"

"There's a room back there where I sleep, but you can use that as it seems like I'm stuck here for the night," Chris responded. He pointed toward the back of the hanger.

"Don't you have a home?"

"This is it… my dad died in an accident, and I don't know where my mom is. She… well, let's just say I don't remember her being that nice; but that's biased, since I haven't seen her after two."

Rachel looked embarrassed as she said, "Sorry I asked."

"It's fine. Besides, you probably would have found out eventually. I reveal things like that when I'm around good-looking ladies. Anyway you should get some rest."

Unable to ignore Chris' third comment, Rachel shrugged it off temporarily to answer him. "Okay; goodnight, Chris. I'll see you in the morning…"

"G'night. You sleep well too."

Maverick spoke from a speaker close to Chris' head. "**There is something critical that I didn't want to say in front of Rachel, but because the Fusion Suit received such a large jolt from the failed Wavebuster, some of its systems have been lost or are too damaged to function properly at the moment**."

"Like what?"

"**The speed boosters and missiles are lost, and because you don't have missiles, you have also lost the Wavebuster as well. However, the good news is that you still have Morph Ball and bombs; plus, the Space Jump is functioning within safety parameters**."

Chris tried to sit up but he was too exhausted and slid back down. "Damn it, you were right. We should have tested _all_ of the systems first."

"**No, Chris, I am not **_**entirely**_** right**." Chris's eyes widened in shock at the A.I.'s show of humility, and was about to speak when he was interrupted by Maverick. "W**e will never know for sure if the Pirate would still have been at the abandoned house or would have moved on had you tested more parts, and you were right in that matter previously. What if you had not tested those first few parts? Would you have died against the Space Pirate instead of just being injured?** **Like I said, we will never know for sure**." An arm came toward Chris and pricked his skin, injecting a fluid into his arm. When Chris asked what it was, Maverick answered, "**This is to help you sleep better and deal with the pain. It's basically a sleep-inducing anesthetic.**"

"Well, hopefully everything will turn out better in the morning," Chris drowsily wished, and fell asleep seconds later, hoping for the best to happen the next day.


	3. Chapter 3

I'd like to thank PY687 for again Beta-reading my story and for sticking with me after the long wait for an update.

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**AI Talking"**

**In the Hanger/Hideout/Home.**

As he started to wake up sunlight flooded into Chris' eyes. _'Ugh, light. Why does morning have to come so early?'_ After his eyes adjusted to the morning light he smelled cooking, and after looking around he saw Rachel was already up and making breakfast.

He sat up. "Uh, what are you doing?"

Rachel looked over her shoulder and gave him a quick smile. "Good morning. I'm making breakfast before we head off to school. Today's Friday, don't you remember?" She walked over with two plates of pancakes stacked on them, one of which she handed to Chris.

"Oh goodie, going to school on an injured leg. This should be loads of fun."

"**You can use a walking cane if you like."**

He grinned at Maverick's suggestion. "Yeah, I'll use a cane. Then I can act like House and be an asshole."

"**That's not what I meant."**

He shrugged and started poking at his pancakes, his mind wandering to the day and mission ahead. Chris didn't have long to sit there dreaming when something Rachel said broke him out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Sorry, you said something?"

Rachel looked a little annoyed. "I said, is there a reason you're poking at your breakfast? Think I poisoned it?" she glared at him.

Somehow, Chris' mouth started moving and words came out before his brain registered what he was saying. "No, I was testing to see if these pancakes are as soft as your boobs look, and they passed."

He felt a chill go down his spine. He looked at Rachel and he could've sworn he saw a tick mark was on her forehead even though there was no emotion on her face.

"Something wrong?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chris and Rachel were standing outside of the abandoned house. Rachel was wearing tighter fitting clothes from Chris' closet that consisted of jeans, a Marine Corps T-shirt and sneakers. Chris was dressed in simple pants and a hoodie to cover up the jumpsuit.

He was grumbling to himself, "Damn women and their tempers and not being able to take a joke."

Rachel turned her head and glared at him. "First, please refrain from cursing in front of me. Second, joke or not, it was rude. And third, you never apologized."

"Well I'm sorry. There, does that help?" he asked with sarcasm dripping from his words.

Further conversation was cut off as the school bus rolled up. They got on and ended up sitting in separate seats. Other than friends and teachers asking Chris what happened to his leg and Chris using his cane to lift up a couple of skirts in lunch nothing exciting happened in school that Friday. Afternoon rolled around, and as the final bell was ringing, Chris was walking towards the buses with his best friend Carl. He looked around and spotted Rachel talking with a group of girls when a thought suddenly sprang up and he smacked himself in his forehead.

Carl looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Something wrong, or do you like smacking yourself for fun?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it."

"Mhmm, right."

They joined up with a couple of their friends and chatted until it came time for the buses to leave. Chris sat down in a seat close to the back of the bus. He gazed out the window listening to his iPod when the seat next to him became occupied. He didn't bother to look at who it was until there was a tap on his shoulder. He looked over his shoulder and saw Rachel standing there.

"Can I help you?"

She sat down and replied. "No, I'm just stealing this seat. All the others are taken."

He looked around and was mildly irritated. He had hoped that the seat would remained empty. "Okay, that's fine. I don't really care." He looked back out the window.

Rachel gave him on sidelong glance, obviously a little hurt by his attitude, but she brushed it off and started talking to the girl across from her. The trip back was uneventful. The bus stopped in front of the abandoned house and dropped them off. Chris started down the road away from the bus at a slow pace. Rachel looked at him, confused. "Why are you going that way? Home is this way." Rachel gestured into the woods.

"I always do this so no one suspects anything."

"Oh, okay. That makes sense." Rachel shrugged and followed.

He looked at her. "So, why did you save me the other night? I mean, you could've just let me die and salvage my suit, right?"

Rachel looked away for a little bit. "Can we talk at home? It's going to be a long story." She looked back, hopeful.

Chris raised his eyebrow at the word "home." "Yeah, that's fine."

They walked into the main cave and were greeted with a couple of surprises:

There was already a brand new bedroom for Rachel.

Several robotic arms were bringing in pieces of the Fusion suit and fitting them together in a third storage tube.

More robotic arms were doing repairs on Rachel's Varia suit.

And last, the Gravity suit was running through the obstacle course on its own.

The sound of jaws hitting the floor was audible. Both Chris and Rachel were speechless. They watched as the Gravity suit maneuvered itself through the course fluidly.

"**Welcome back, Master Chris and Lady Rachel. How was school today?" **Maverick spoke up cheerfully.

Completely ignoring what Maverick said Chris asked, "Uh, Maverick, what is the Gravity suit doing moving around, without me in it?"

"**Ah, yes. That. Well, it first started with an idea of mine, and after months of calculations and trials while you were out I was able to come up with a system to put a part of myself into either of the suits and operate them. So now tests can be run on any of the suits without harm to yourself or Rachel, and they can be done ahead of time instead of right before you have to leave."**

Rachel, meanwhile, was too focused on watching the Gravity suit to have heard their conversation. She watched as it was attacked by three combat drones. The suit used the grapple beam to grab one of the drones and proceeded to swing it over its head and smash it into the ground. The remaining drones began attacking it with primitive power beam cannons. Again, the suit used the grapple beam, but it instead latched onto the ceiling and hauled itself up while raining down ice beam shots, freezing one drone while the other dived out of the way. The frozen drone was shattered by a missile at its feet. The last drone was crushed underneath the Gravity suits feet as it landed on the ground.

"Brutal, yet effective." Chris commented with a tiny grin. Rachel just nodded.

Maverick then directed the Gravity suit back into its label storage tube. **"Now then, there's good news and even better news. First, the Fusion suit will be ready for action in about three months. Second, the Gravity suit is operating at 100%."**

Chris nodded and turned to Rachel. "So now that we're here, can you tell me?"

"Sure, let's take a seat. Like I said, it's going to be a long story."

Chris sat down on the couch and waited for her to sit in the chair across from him. He gestured for her to start.

"Let me see where to start. Well, as you know, I was taking shelter in that house. Those two flying pirates were hunting me, and I had taken too much damage to my suit to fight back. I only half of my base shields left."

Chris interrupted. "Wait, so that's why the pirates were there in the first place?"

Rachel crossed her legs. "Yes, that's why. Now, can you please not interrupt?" After receiving a nod she continued. "After I got up to the second floor window I noticed a person walking in the direction of the house and I got a look at your face in the moon light. Then I heard the pirates overhead. I worried for your safety so I peeked out to find you, and to my surprise, you had vanished. One pirate left to search elsewhere while the first one stayed on the roof. After awhile you came back in your Fusion suit, though I didn't know it was you then."

There was a noise behind them. They turned and watched and the now completed Fusion suit stepped out of its holding tube and headed for the firing range. **"I will be testing the basic systems of the Fusion suit in order to determine what work will need to be done. Please continue."**

Rachel sat in thought for a moment before Chris spoke up to help her. "So I fought the pirates and damaged one of them."

"Yeah, and when you were thrown back after trying to use your Wavebuster, I was about to leave before they noticed me. But then something stopped me and I jumped out to save you. I figured you could be an ally. Well, that's it; you know the rest."

Chris sat on the couch, deep in thought. Rachel was about to ask what was on his mind when he got up and walked over to a large computer console with one big monitor and many smaller ones. He sat in front of it and proceeded to punch in various lines of codes. Random small screens flicked on, showing data, while the largest one turned on and showed a world map. Three red points on the map appeared: one in America, near D.C., one in Africa, close to Egypt, and the last one in Australia in the middle of open land.

He turned to look at her. "Your story gives me a lot to think about. Such as, did you save me because you figured on using me?"

"No, never!" Rachel exclaimed, offended and a little hurt.

"So then why did you save me? You could have moved on without feeling any guilt because you didn't know me, and you could've come back to salvage my Fusion suit."

"Look, I don't know why I did. And besides, do I really need a reason for saving you?"

"… Maybe not, but I still had to ask those questions."

He gestured towards the world map. "Anyway, I have news for you. I'm going on an extended mission to investigate these three blips on the map. As you can see, they are basically around the world, so I'll be gone for at least five to six months."

Rachel raised her hand. He chuckled. "You don't have to raise your hand, this isn't school. Go ahead and ask."

She nodded. "Well, if you're leaving and you will be gone for a while, what am I going to do?"

"Why, my dear Rachel, you thought I'd leave you here with my equipment alone? No, no, you're coming with me. Not that I don't trust you or anything; it's just that I met you only last night. So suit up and get ready. We leave in half an hour."

"**And that's my queue. Both of your suits are ready. Chris, I believe you'll be taking the Gravity suit, correct?"**

"It's the only functional one, right? And make sure Rachel charges her suit before we leave. Let her use the Gravity suit charger since they're similar."

"**As you command. Lady Rachel, after you get suited up, please step over to the wall near the exit. You'll find a charging station there. Just plug in your arm cannon into the hole and I'll tell you when it's done."**

"Okay, thanks."

Chris got up and walked into his room to gather his things, leaving Rachel to get into her Zero suit again and put her armor on. She opted to carry her helmet in her hand instead of putting it on.

Chris was sitting at the small computer desk in his room. "So, did you add that thing to Rachel's suit?"

"**Yes, I did. All you have to do is give my subroutine the command and her suit will completely shut down."**

"Very good, thank you Maverick. So did we both get subroutines?"

"**Again, yes."**

Chris nodded, satisfied that if Rachel turned on him she could be neutralized quickly. "And repairs on the Fusion suit. How long till it's functioning?"

"**Rough estimate… About nine months, give or take one."**

He sighed. "Yeah, I figured as much. So were all the supplies I listed transferred over to the firebase in Africa?"

"**Yes, supplies for you and Rachel have been sent. Although only guy clothes and materials were sent due to the lack of female**** things."**

"That's fine. If it's possible, could you gather some girl products and send them through the item transporter while we're there? I'm sure she'd appreciate that a lot. I don't know what she has on her."

"**Done and done. Now you had better get going. That pirate base needs to be investigated. Contact me when you get to the firebase, and make sure you put Rachel into the base's system so the defensive systems don't kill her on sight."**

"Of course, thanks for the reminder." He left his room and proceeded towards the Gravity suit.

"Can we get going please?" Rachel asked, irritated that a boy could take longer to get ready than a girl.

He just ignored her for the moment. He stepped up and the Gravity suit was assembled onto his frame. When it was finished, he stepped down and moved towards the recharging station. Rachel was standing next to the exit tapping her foot. He pushed his arm cannon into the slot, and while the suit was charging, he looked over at her. "Can I help you?"

"Well, it's a long way to D.C., so we need to make it there as soon as possible. Right?"

"That would be true if we were going to D.C., but our first stop is Africa – and no, I'm not walking. One, it's too slow, and two, I'm too fucking lazy."

Rachel frowned at his language. "Then how do we get there? Fly?"

Chris pulled his arm out of the slot when the meter read fully charged and proceeded towards the machine shop in the back of his home. "Well, my dear Rachel, you could say we're going to fly. But this method takes mere seconds to get us from here to our destination." He pointed to a raised platform.

"This is my long-range mode of transportation. Basically, it's a teleporter. We're going to use this to get to Africa, though sad to say, it's one-way. Now I do have receiving nodes almost all over the world but there are places I have to run to get to."

"Is it dangerous?"

"Not at all. I use it all the time. Now come on, we have to get to the firebase before dark. I'll go in first and make sure nothing is around the node and you come after about thirty seconds." Without waiting for her reply, he stepped up onto the platform and hefted his cannon. "See you on the other side." And with a flash he was gone.

She was stunned at the fact it actually worked. She always walked to the places she had to get to while wearing her armor. After about what she though was thirty seconds she stepped up onto the platform. "I sure hope he's right and I won't appear in the middle of the Earth or something." She too hefted her cannon, but she closed her eyes, not wanting to see what was on the other side for fear of really appearing at the center of the Earth.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the extreme lateness of this chapter. I'm back in business. Schools out for the summer and I've picked up my pencil and setting my nose to the grind stone.

Thank you as always PY687 for Beta-reading!

Enjoy!

* * *

"Talking"

"_Thinking_"

"**AI Talking"**

As soon as his feet hit the dirt, he tucked and rolled behind a small boulder. He looked up and swept the area with his arm cannon checking for any hostiles; finding none he lowered his arm and looked back at the receiving node.

"Now, why did I put it there? Oh yeah, I was too lazy to look for a better spot." Sighing Chris picked up the little node and concealed in a large rock formation.

"Much better."

He had no sooner finished his sentence than the receiver glowed green, and a mist ascended from the node as a body took shape.

"Hmm, I wonder what took so long. She probably thought she'd end up in the middle of the earth." He chuckled and turned to walk a little away from the receiver to let Rachel have some room.

Rachel got her senses back and looked around. At first, she saw nothing, but then movement caught her eye and she instinctively raised her arm cannon.

Chris put his arms over his head. "Wait, Rachel, it's me."

She dropped her arm quickly. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

If he had no helmet on, she would've seen his jaw unhinge a little. "Rachel, we have an FOF system that puts a nametag above our head and outlines us in green. Weren't you paying attention to my instructions earlier?" He stopped ranting at her when he realized something. "You had your eyes on something other than my face, didn't you?"

She blushed. "No! I was paying attention, I just forgot."

"Right. Well, anyway, we're here to look in upon a group of space pirates. While Maverick was scanning around, he picked up a rather large energy signature. Now he was unable to ID the signature, but we'll assume it's dangerous for now."

"Why couldn't Maverick ID it?"

"**Too much radiation around the object. It blocked my scans."**

Rachel looked around, startled. "What?"

"That was Maverick talking through your internal speakers. He created a small transportable version of himself. It helps a lot when I'm out and about."

"Oh ok, thanks."

Chris glanced up at the sun; it looked to be about 8:00 in the afternoon. Having an internal clock in his suit helped with telling time. He turned back to see Rachel looking around. "Hey, we need to get moving. I have a shelter firebase here."

Rachel looked up from watching a scorpion crawl along the ground. "Ok."

After checking the area around them the pair set off across the African plains. They saw a few wild animals. Some lions, zebra, and giraffes; nothing too big. As he was walking along Chris kept going over the intel Maverick have uploaded to him before departure. As Maverick had made a quick scan on Rachel's suit, he had found an ID number imbedded on a chip. Maverick had then run a full scan to confirm the number and to find any more identifying markings; needless to say, Maverick had come up with not only an ID number for the suit manufacturer but one detail that set off alarm bells in Chris's head.

Rachel was military. But she wasn't part of any military organization he was familiar with and he happened to be "good" friends with most of them. He remembered with a grim smile how the French government had taken it when denied access to his technology. The Fusion suit and speed boost were given a full workout that day.

Chris sent a quick glance towards his "teammate." Rachel was busy watching the wildlife on the plains instead of watching where she was being led. He shook his head because he could be leading her to her death and she wouldn't know. He thought about starting a conversation with her but opted against it. Besides iIt was very nice to walk in silence. Besides, it was a half-hour walk to his permanent shelterfirebase.

"Hey, Chris?"

"What?" he answered with a little more irritation in his voice then intended.

In her suit Rachel flinched a little at his tone. "I just thought I should tell you that I have no long term supplies. Since we never discussed how long we'd be out here."

Chris again looked over his shoulder but he didn't break stride. He instead slowed down to walk beside her so he didn't trip and look like an idiot.

"Okay then. What did you bring?"

"Only my suit and some emergency rations." Her body slumped a little in embarrassment.

Chris sighed. "I hope I have lots of Aleve stocked up. I'm gonna need it when this is over with. First let's get to my place firebase and then we'll worry about this little snag." As soon as he finished Chris saw the firebaseshelter. "Oh, there it is." With that he quickened his pace.

Rachel followed him. She watched Chris walk up to a medium sized boulder. "Is that your shelterfirebase?"

"Yup. Well, that's the door. It's all underground."

"Ah, okay."

They walked up to the medium sized boulder. Chris walked around it, running a hand along the rock. He stopped and knocked on a spot low to the ground. Chris then stood up and pulled up a false panel; underneath a keypad was visible. He put a four-digit code in and slapped the cover back on. Standing up, he took a step back.

"Welcome to my home away from home."

A crack appeared on the face of the boulder and widened. The doors opened to five feet and stopped. Chris stepped through the opening followed by Rachel. She looked around as they traveled down a short hallway leading down in the ground. They reached another door that slid open automatically. Rachel walked in and was stunned by what she saw. It looked like a fully furnished apartment with three rooms: Chris's bedroom, a living room and kitchen, and bathroom.

Chris started walking over to his bedroom.

"Go ahead and make yourself comfortable while I get my suit off."

With that, he walked in his room and shut the door. He continued to walk over towards his closet. It wasn't only for storing clothes but also his suit and any field equipment for easy repairs, since he knew how to do minor repairs to hisboth suits.

Back in the living room, Rachel removed her helmet and looked around the place. There was a large, old-looking sofa perfect for power naps, a coffee table before the sofa, and unfortunately no television. However, there was a computer sitting on a desk opposite the sofa. On the ceiling there was no fan but vents in the corners of the room. She could smell fresh air coming from them.

Not wanting to stand any longer she sat on the sofa to wait for Chris to come out. On the coffee table were some books and old magazines. Picked up one of the books and on the front cover the skeleton of a T-rex was depicted on a background of white with the words "Jurassic Park" written across the top. A tap on her shoulder startled her.

"Damn you're jumpy. Don't you ever relax?" Chris said with a grin. Scaring people was always funny.

"You didn't have to scare me half to death!" She dropped the book and stood up. "How come all boys are so immature."

Chris raised his eyebrow "An how am I immature? I didn't intend to scare you. Only tell you it's your turn to get out of your suit." He pointed over his shoulder to the door.

"Well that would be nice but I…uh…don'thaveanythingonunderneath." Rachel said the last part so fast Chris thought he misunderstood.

"Wait what? Can you say that again slower and in English?"

Rachel looked down, a blush creeping up her face. "Well it goes like this, normally when I wear my suit I only have undergarments. You know since I don't have a Zero suit. So when I got ready to go I didn't think to put on the Zero suit. Sorry"

He raised one eyebrow letting out a tiny sigh. "Really? Well I guess you'll just have to use some of my clothes. Unless you object?"

Her first thoughts were she had no other choice. It was either borrow and wear his clothes or walk around in only one set of bra and panties. Rachel hoped he wasn't like most guys would try taking advantage of her but when she looked up and saw his face there was no perverted grin or anything like that. Only a look of slight disappointment mixed with the beginnings of tiredness. She wouldn't have minded the perverted look now.

Chris didn't notice her look up at him. Instead he had been thinking about future events. Between the Space Pirates, Rachel, and the African wilderness then to the other destinations, this adventure was start look like it would take more than five months. He finally noticed her look away again. 'Ahh crap now she probably thinks I'm mad at her. Damn it. Oh well."Better try cheering her up a little.'

"Well go ahead and get out of your suit. After you walk into my room just step into the door on your immediate left and Maverick while have your suit off and stored." He said this as he started over towards the couch. He stopped when he was next to her. Turning to look at her Chris placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look don't worry. I'm not mad at you and I have the Maverick back home gathering famine products to send here for you."

Rachel glanced up and gave him a small smile. "Thanks. I really appreciate it Chris. You would do all this for someone who's a stranger to you." She was about to hug him but refrained because hugging someone while in a Varia would be painful and she didn't want to make him mad at her. Rachel She walked into his room and shut the door.

Chris moved over and sat down in front of the computer. After putting a head set on Chris spoke quietly. "Alright Maverick first things first please detain Rachel for a little bit. Second do you have those items?"

"**To answer your first question yes. For your other question that would be a yes and no. I only was able to gather a few items. It would probably last about a week."**

"Alright that'll have to do. Spend them over and continue to gather items. I think this adventure is going to be extended by four more months or so. That'll make this almost one year before we go home."

"**As you wish. If I may ask what are you going to do about Rachel?" Also what about school? Just send a drones?"**

Chris rubbed his chin with his left hand. The short coarse hairs on his chin poked back. 'I need to a shower and shave.'

"I'm going to leave both things up to you. But interviewInterview Rachel;. Find out about her past. Be creative. But don't kill her. The carpet is new and it's very difficult to get blood stains out."

"**As you wish."**

The bedroom door opened behind him and Rachel walked out wearing blue shorts, a white shirt with NAVY written in blue letters on the front and socks. She spun around for Chris to see.

"What do you think?"

Chris sighed and stood up. "It's cute. But now I'm going to jump in the shower."

Rachel was a little put out at Chris brushing her off. But she marked it up as being tired.

He walked past her and through his bedroom and into the bathroom. After shutting the door he looked around and took stock. 'We're going to need more stuff.' He busied himself with getting out a towel, shampoo, and body wash. Folding the towel and placing it on the counter he stopped to look in the mirror.

"Tomorrow I turn 18." His mind wandered. Thoughts of past birthdays. AI or not Maverick was the closest thing to family Chris had. He never figured out how Maverick was able to do things in the house. But every year Maverick had a surprise present and cake for him when he woke up. Chris would ask how he did it and would get the same response **"Does it really matter?"** He stopped asking Maverick after his 9th birthday. Shaking his head Chris stepped into the shower and turned the water on. As he washed up and let the water run down his back a thought struck him. 'How do I use the bathroom?' No matter how what ideas he thought of; in the end it was pointless to hold in his urge. He was shocked with what happened next; he felt himself pee but he didn't see anything come out. Chris signed in frustration. First the Pirates, than almost destroying one of his suits, this damn trip around the world, not peeing right, and the icing on the cake not only was he faking the pain in his body but he found it hard to walk on let alone stand on his right leg. Maverick confirmed it fractured but still usable. The A.I. had forced Chris to promise to take it easy; telling him to only take three of the eight mission's available. Finishing his shower Chris stepped out and toweled off.

Chris stopped in front of the mirror. A seventeen-year old looked back at him. His dirty blond hair slicked back with water. He didn't have a muscular body; more like a marathon runners build. Last were his eyes; it's been said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. His windows were fogged over; he had seen too much for someone his age. Memory ghosts began to come back to him. He shook his head and after getting dressed stepped out of the bathroom. Towel wrapped around his waist, even though it wasn't need, he stepped out of his room and made his way to the small kitchen. After grabbing a bottle of water and an apple he stepped back into the living room.

Rachel was again sitting on the couch but this time reading the Jurassic park book. She looked up and gave him a smile and a wave before returning to her

book. Chris took off the towel and placed it on the back of the computer chair before sitting down.

"All we're gonna do today is settle in; tomorrow I'll take you out and teach you how to recon. Unless you already know how." He asked.

Rachel looked over, "Oh I know how to do recon, but since it seems like you can't be without me I'll be happy to come along." She winked at him.

A grin spread across his face, "Good up tomorrow by 0600 sharp." He stood up and proceeded outside "I'll be outside."

He found a spot to lie on the ground, his head propped up by a small smooth stone. As he ate his apple he reflected on the difficult mission ahead. The setting sun painted the sky with purples, blues, and oranges. Chris pushed all of his worries to the back of his mind and enjoyed the sunset.

'Enjoy the little things while I've got time.'

The bedroom door opened behind him and Rachel walked out wearing blue shorts, a white shirt with NAVY written in blue letters on the front and socks. She spun around for Chris to see.

"What do you think?"

Chris sighed and stood up. "It's cute. Well I'm going to jump in the shower."

Rachel was a little put out at Chris brushing her off. But she marked it up as being tired.


	5. Chapter 5

As always thank you to PY687 for his hard work at betaing my story.

"_**Scan"**_

_**

* * *

**_

After Chris left, Rachel had been reading _Jurassic Park_. Needless to say, she was enjoying it, from the idea of cloning dinosaurs from bits and pieces of DNA found in mosquitoes trapped in amber to a whole island of living, breathing dinosaurs. She glanced around for a clock, and the one across from her on the computer desk read 9:23. She could feel herself becoming tired and decided to stop reading and wait for Chris to come back. Rachel was curious to know what they were going to be doing and how long they'd be there. Half an hour later Rachel had fallen asleep. Chris walked in and noticed her pasted out on the couch. Sighing, he walked over and gently picked her up bridal style and moved her to his bed. After laying her down and tucking her in, he left and closed the door to the room.

"Damn that cute girl and my soft heart," Chris mumbled. He threw a spare pillow and blanket on the couch. He flopped on it, his mind wandering as he let sleep overtake him.

**

* * *

**

Chris was awake when the clock read 4:45 am. Throwing the blanket on the back of the couch, he sat up yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and made his way to his former bedroom, briefly checking if Rachel was up; it was unsurprising that she was still out. Shrugging, he stepped into the bathroom and closed the door after flicking on the light. Stepping up to the sink, he turned on the faucet and splashed cold water in his face. He finished with spiking his hair up and backwards. Satisfied with the results, he smiled at his reflection. After drying his face Chris opened the door and walked out. Rachel was still asleep. Sighing, Chris took it upon himself to wake her up.

He put the tip of his index finger on the side of her face and wiggled it around, yelling, "HOLY SHIT, THERE'S A BLACK WIDOW ON YOUR FACE!"

Rachel tried to jump out of bed, but got tangled in the sheets, grabbing Chris' arm and bringing them to the floor in her panic. Chris, on the bottom of the pile, laughed. "Owww, that hurt."

Rachel looked at him with a face of hate.

"Something wrong?" Chris asked innocently.

Half an hour later, Chris was sitting at the small table, eating pancakes and bacon. Rachel held an apple.

"You really should eat something more than one little apple," Chris mentioned through a mouth full of pancakes, pointing his fork at her.

"Can't, I'm on a diet," she responded, taking a bite of it.

"Whatever; let's get going." He stood up and walked over to a wall locker. He reached inside and grabbed a pack. Inside it were extra food, water, first-aid supplies, binoculars.. He grabbed two paralyzers. "Here, arm yourself; we'll be out for a long time. I've got the supplies and everything we'll need out there."

"Is there anything I can carry?"

"No, I've got everything," Chris told her as he made his way outside. Rachel frowned but followed him without saying anything. After closing off the firebase and a brief look at his PDA, they were off heading north. Chris kept glancing at his PDA every so often to keep them on course. Rachel decided to keep watch; she wanted to start up a conversation to pass the time, but her training kept her quite. Who knew what was out here.

Thirty minutes later the pair had found what they had been looking for. It was a group of high-tech buildings seemingly in the middle of nowhere. They found a location and set down their equipment to do some reconnaissance and surveillance. They spent several hours gathering information on the place before heading back to Chris's firebase to share what they found.

Chris punched in the code to unlock the door before stepping inside; Rachel instantly flopped on the couch. "I'm so tired. Today was rough," Rachel said in a whining tone. She had been complaining a lot lately.

Chris snorted, choosing not comment on her lack of eating as the cause of the problem. Instead, he grabbed a bottle of water out of his pack and tossed it to her. "Here, drink this. It's best to stay hydrated out here. Better be drinking at least four bottles of water."

Thinking he was going to hand it to her Rachel only reached out. The bottle landed on her stomach. "Hey! That hurt!"

"Stop your bitching, I've heard enough of that today. Besides, why are you complaining? You didn't do anything. I ended up doing all the work."

"I did work-" Rachel started to say before Chris cut her off.

"Then tell me who was occupying that base we saw today and what they were doing," he demanded.

Rachel shot back, "There were people there, and I don't know exactly what they were doing. I think it was animal research or something."

Chris moved to the computer chair and sat down. "That's what I thought you'd make up. Well, you're wrong, so shut up and listen up. There aren't any humans there, and it's not normal research. That base is full of Space Pirates, and as far as I could tell, they were doing something with phazon. It would explain the weird reading Maverick was getting." Half of that was a lie; he had only seen the pirates transporting the phazon in containers. Maverick had filled Chris in on what his scans had told him.

Hearing _Space Pirates_ Rachel sat up and continued to listen a little more intently.

Glad he had her attention now, Chris began to lay out a plan. "Here's what we're gonna do. First, we're going to gather more intel; find out where they're getting the phazon if possible, what they're doing with it, and so on. Second, we're going to need a plan of attack if we can. Either frontal or surprise, doesn't matter."

For the next hour they went over strategies and plans for the next week. Chris was surprised and pleased that Rachel had a sharp mind and was able to come up with a possible battle plan, and even a suggestion of where they might be getting their phazon supply. Maverick pitched in a comment here and there, though the A.I. primarily wanted them to come up with the ideas. Looking at the clock and seeing Rachel yawning, Chris chose to call it a night.

"Alright, it's getting late. Time for bed."

"You're not my parent," Rachel joked

Chris grinned. "It's a good thing too. You're a lot to handle at times."

Rachel stuck her tongue out at him. Chris pointed to the bedroom. "Bed. Now. Up at 0800 sharp. You don't want me waking you up again."

Rachel stood up and walked over to the bedroom door. She paused before going in. "Thanks for everything Chris. Really." With that she disappeared inside.

Chris sat in the computer chair, thinking before getting up and lying on the couch and pulling the blanket over his body up to his chest. He was so tired that he was asleep in a few minutes.

**

* * *

**

Chris was up at 7:30 am. Stretching and yawn, he got up and made his way to the bedroom. Not bothering to knock, he entered and made his way to the bathroom. The room felt drafty, but it was still too early for him to notice much. Once in the bathroom he took a quick shower to help wake him up. Meanwhile, Rachel woke to the sound of the shower running. She got up and went to the closet to get a set of clothes for the day. Maverick had sent over women's clothes yesterday. Satisfied with her garment selection, she knocked on the bathroom door.

"Hey, how long are you going to be in the shower?"

Chris poked his head out from behind the curtain, shaving cream on his face. "About fifteen minutes. I'm shaving right now. Why?"

"Is it alright if I come in to set my clothes on the counter?"

"Alright, that's fine. I'll tell you when I'm done."

When he had finished washing up, he grabbed his towel and stepped out. As he was toweling his hair, he yelled, "I'm out! You can come in now."

With the towel still over his head, all he heard was the door open, then slammed shut. Rachel screamed, "WHAT THE HELL, CHRIS!"

Puzzled let the towel rest on his shoulders. "What are you talking about?" he yelled back.

"YOU'RE NAKED!"

He looked down and did a double take. He was indeed naked, no Zero Suit in sight. "What the hell. There's no suit." He shook his head and chose to have Maverick explain later.

"Well, that's new," was all Chris could say. "Sorry, Rachel, didn't notice. I'm coming out to get some clothes."

As soon as he said _clothes,_ his whole body started to tingle and the Zero Suit appeared. He was dumbfounded for the second time that morning. "Umm, scratch that. The suit came back."

"What do you mean? I thought you took it off." Rachel asked through the door.

"Yeah, but it's back. I'm so confused, but whatever." Chris opened the door and walked out, ignoring Rachel, who was covering her face. He went straight to the kitchen to make breakfast.

He set two plates of food on the table and figured he should be polite and wait. It took five minutes for Rachel to leave the bedroom.

"Wow, done in five minutes. Never knew a woman could be finished that fast. Food's on the table, so eat up. We leave in twenty minutes," Chris remarked, picking up his fork. The temperature of the room dropped a little.

Chris glanced up, feeling an angry pair of eyes on him. "Something wrong?"

* * *

The next two weeks was spent in this fashion, a rotation of doing recon on the Space Pirate base, learning to live somewhat peacefully with each other, and forming a plan of action.

Meanwhile, since Chris wasn't at the home base Maverick was unable to figure out why the Zero Suit disappeared and then magically reappeared again.

Early one morning two figures were laying on a hilltop, giving one final look over the base. After much discussion they had decided to take turns scouting the inside of the base. They had to use the morph ball to infiltrate it, and they could only spend at maximum thirty minutes inside the base at a time. The duo couldn't afford to get caught.

Rachel looked over at Chris, gazing at him through the visor of her Varia suit. Over the two week-period she had come to like this strange boy even if he had many personality quirks. He was egotistical, authoritarian, intolerant, and at his worst an asshole. But she found those were balanced by his positive traits; he could be thoughtful, determined, generous, and even respectful. Giving up his bedroom and sharing his stuff proved that.

Inside his Gravity suit Chris had a quick conversation with Maverick.

"So all we need to do is locate the main phazon storage unit, and I drop a power bomb before we haul ass out?"

"**Correct. The explosion from the power bomb would be more than enough to set off the already-unstable phazon materials and destroy this base."**

"Done and done. Keep me posted."

"**Will do."**

Chris turned to Rachel and informed her of the plan. Rachel nodded in confirmation before they both rolled into morph ball and quickly made their way down the hill and into the shadow of the base wall. Once there Chris activated the spider ball and climbed the wall to the guardhouse. With speed and precision borne from years of hard work, he unrolled from the morph ball and attached his grapple beam to the edge of the guard tower. Taking a hurried look over the side and finding no one, he vaulted over and activated the control panel of the gate to let Rachel in. The gate opened smoothly to Chris's relief, but an alarm suddenly sounded throughout the base, alerting the Space Pirates of their presence.

Rachel popped out of morph ball and charged her cannon as the first wave of pirates rushed out of a door. She scanned them quickly, hoping to find some weakness.

**Space Pirate Log Entry: **_**"Sentient aggressor**__** species well trained in weapon and melee combat. Space pirates wield Galvanic Accelerator Cannons and forearm-mounted scythes in combat. This species seeks to become the dominant force in the galaxy, and their technology may help them realize this goal. Ruthless and amoral, pirates care little for the cost of their ambition. Only the results matter, and they take these very seriously."**_

She returned to her combat visor. Taking a calming breath, she released the trigger let the ball of destruction race across the field, hitting a pirate in the chest.

Using the advantage of height Chris fired single shots of his ice beam, slowing down or freezing pirates in place. The pirates returned fire with gusto, seeking to kill the two armored hunters and to protect their phazon research base. The fight lasted for several minutes before the pirates' defeat. Chris scanned the immediate area for more enemies; not finding any, he began to make his way down when his motion sensor picked up three targets. He looked around but couldn't find them.

"Maverick! Where are they?"

"**I'm picking up three extremely hot targets. Suggest you switch to thermal visor. Be quick; they're making their way towards Rachel!"**

Chris ran to the edge and jumped down as he switched to thermal visor. He landed harder on the ground than he intended and resulted in reinjuring his leg. Chris stumbled but regained his balance in time to look up and find three shadow pirates trying to rush Rachel. Chris lifted his cannon and rapid fired power beam shots at all three, hoping to keep them at bay.

"Rachel, you've got shadow pirates on your six! Aim where I'm shooting, that's where they are!"

Rachel turned and added her power beam shots to the mix. It didn't take long for the three shadow pirates to fall under their combined fire. Rachel walked over to the three bodies, checking them. She switched to her scan visor.

**Shadow Pirate Entry Log: **_**"The shadow pirates are pirate forces that are trained and equipped for stealth operations. A select group of space pirates have access to sophisticated technology. This gear drains high levels of power, however, forcing them to rely solely on melee weapons in battle. Use enhanced detection gear when fighting these units."**_

While Rachel checked the bodies all around, Chris sat on the ground.

He sighed. Operating the HUD system he flicked through files before opening one marked "Playlist-on-the-go01."

"_Some music wouldn't hurt. __Pain from my leg takes care of that." _He selected "Cold Hard Bitch" by Jet. The music flowed from his internal speakers before entering and flowing through his ears and into his body. Bobbing his head in time to the beat he stood up, ignoring everything, instead focusing on the music and the mission. In his music trance, Chris charged the ice beam and froze the door leading inside the main building before slamming his fist through it, effectively shattering the door.

"Knock, knock, you ugly sons of fucked up bitches! Anyone willing to dance a few numbers?"

The space pirates had been prepared for the intruders to open the door, not smash it in and drop a one-liner. Some had been standing around the entrance hoping to catch them off guard. Unfortunately, that plan backfired.

"Ah, business. I love business and business loves me back. Look at all these customers. Well, time to _help_ my lovely customers." He opened the end of the cannon and whipped off three missiles the left, right and in front. A pirate dropped from the ceiling, trying to use his overhead position to his advantage. Too bad for him Chris' motion sensor picked him up as he began to fall. He paused for a second before quickly bringing his fist up into the unlucky pirate's abdomen. It fell back, trying to get air into its lungs. The metal boot going through his head ended that.

"Eww. I think I stepped in something." Not bothering to look he continued on, dealing death in every direction the pirates came from. Shooting, punching, kicking; long range or close range; none of that mattered as Chris let his training and experience kick in and auto pilot take over.

Rachel walked in after him. She only heard him mention stepping in something. She froze at the sight of fatalities all around her.

"_How can he do all this? He couldn't even kill those two flying pirates! This is just too wrong."_

She was dazed at how brutal he was. Sure, she had killed before, but this was wrong on so many levels. Bodies and blood were scattered everywhere; on the floor, over desks, hanging from the ceiling by a limb here and there. Room after room she walked through horrific sights.

Chris had searched the building, and two hours later he finally found the last pirate.

"Damn, this was just too fucking easy. I wonder why they sent you bunch of retards here. Oh wait, I know. Because you all a bunch of pussies! HA!"

The pirate didn't understand a word the armored scum said. The pirate was up against a wall bleeding his life fluid all over the floor. For his final act, he looked up and pressed a button on the wall. The button started to pulse as he collapsed, dead, to the floor.

Chris put a power beam shot in the pirate's head before turning to leave the room and building. He needed to take a breather. Killing had never been easy, but music helped him overcome that obstacle by letting him focus on something beside his victims' screams and wailing. As he walked past a previously locked door, it hissed open. Curious, he walked in, cannon out in front. To his surprise he found a human girl in the room. She looked to be around thirteen. She was strapped into a chair in the middle of the room, machinery all around her with a multitude of wires and tubes sticking to her skin. The girl was unconscious and naked.

"_Pirates never cared about their hostages so I'm not surprised."_ He check and cleared the room before making his way to the unconscious girl. He unplugged all the wires and carefully pulled out the tubes. _"IVs? Why would they want her alive?"_

Chris took hold of the metal tube leading into her mouth. He gently pulled it out, but as he went to throw it something caught his eye: a drop of blue liquid. After doing a scan and confirming his thought, he cursed as he threw the tube away. He looked back at the girl sadly.

Hearing footsteps he glanced over his shoulder and saw Rachel standing in the door frame.

"How is she?"

Chris shook his helmeted head. "Dead. Phazon poisoning."

"Oh….." There was an awkward silence between them.

Rachel moved out of the doorway as Chris walked out and across the hall to the opposite door. It slid open and inside was another human girl. Unlike the last unfortunate girl, she was alive. She looked up at the sound of the door opening. To her surprised, instead of those ugly creatures a person in a futuristic armor suit stood in the doorway.

Chris was surprised. Here in front of him was Morgan, Carl's little sister, captured by that flying pirate on the day he met Rachel. He realized she was in the same predicament as the last girl, strapped to a chair with machinery around her and in a state of undress. He poked his head out the door and called for Rachel.

Rachel came up to him. "What's up?"

"This is something you're gonna have to take care of." Chris stepped out of the room.

"Really? Okay, I'll have a look," Rachel said as she walked inside the room.

Ten minutes later Rachel strutted out with Morgan on her back, a blanket wrapped around her.

Chris was sitting against the wall, his helmet off and smoking a cigarette. He stood up as Rachel made her appearance. Taking a drag he asked, "So how is she?"

She frowned at his smoking. "She's fine. Seems like the pirates didn't do anything, but I'm not sure."

At this time Morgan looked at Chris' face. "Chris? Is that really you?"

Blowing smoke out of his nose, Chris answered, "Sorry, not answering at this time." He looked back at Rachel. "Take her out of here. I'm going to plant a power bomb and blow the fuck out of this hellhole."

Rachel caught the tone of hate in his voice, but complied without saying anything about his bad habits of cursing and smoking. She would reprimand him later.

They went different directions. Rachel planned on waiting on the hilltop they had started from while Chris made his way to a storage room Maverick marked on his map. As he approached the door, it opened to allow him through. He paused. "What is that?"

Inside the room, a large oval-shaped containment unit stood in the center. All around the room, phazon unit stood. But all Chris had eyes for was the _thing_ inside the large containment unit. It was large with what looked like black armor covering its body. The shoulder pieces were blue along with the lower jaw. The mouth reminded him of a staple remover. It stood at nine feet, armed with clawed hands. Chris stood in wonder of the mighty specimen

**Elite Pirate Entry Log: **_**"The Elite Pirate, a Phazon-enhanced Space Pirate. Incredibly strong, armored, and well armed. Elite pirates are potent foes. Their energy-siphon system absorbs beam weapon shots, which they use to fuel a massive plasma artillery cannon. The nature of this system makes them vulnerable to concussion-based weapons. Well-armed, the elite pirate is effective in close combat and also at a distance. Their massive size can be a weakness, and their sluggish speed allows for evasion and quick attacks."**_

The scan must have woken the Elite, because the eyes started to glow as it moved. The pirate roared and smashed the reinforced door of its container open. Chris fired the ice beam/missile combo, the ice spreader, at the Elite. It raised its right hand before absorbing the ice spreader.

Chris raised an eyebrow. "Well, what the hell?" The plasma artillery cannon on the elite pirate's back came online and took aim at Chris. "Aw, shit."

Outside, Rachel had made it to the hill overlooking the pirate base. She set down her younger charge before taking a seat to wait for Chris. The ground shook as one side of the base was demolished. A purple figure came flying out that side of the building. She was about to run forward but stopped. She had to stay and watch over Morgan. Rachel stood fast and prayed that Chris would be all right.

But all right was the last thing on Chris's mind. That artillery cannon packed one mean punch. It drained a full energy tank from his shields, leaving him with seven more plus the base shield. _"Maybe I'll just lay here for a while,"_ he thought as a giant fist came into view, hurtling downwards. Chris rolled to the side. _"Then again, living is nice."_

He rolled into a morph ball as the Elite reached a hand down to pick him up. It looked at the metal ball in confusion. Chris tried to wiggle out of the Elite's grip, but it held tight. He could feel the pressure building. Desperate, he dropped a normal bomb in its hand. A second later the Elite dropped Chris as the bomb exploded in its hand. He rolled away from the pirate before unwinding and standing up. Trying to buy time to formulate an offensive plan, Chris fired his power beam at the Elite. In response the elite pirate raised one hand and absorbed the attack. The artillery cannon began to glow at the tip. Not wanting to continue feeding it power, Chris released his missiles. _"This big bastard's not going down easy."_

Another fist came crashing down, knocking Chris off his feet and into the wall surrounding the base. The Elite roared in triumph as it leveled its artillery cannon at Chris. Chris looked up as the cannon fired.

Rachel saw Chris trying to fight the Elite. She watched in horror as Chris was punched into the wall before being shot at close range.

She fell to her knees in shock.

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**And that's a wrap for Chapter 5. Chapter 6 is just around the corner. Read and Review. Let me know what you think.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm back with a new chapter. Hope you enjoy!**

**A big thank you to PY687 for beta reading and making me think farther in the story than just the next chapter!**

**I should have down this earlier but thank you for:**

**Story alert from Catharsis25.**

**Favorites by Mach10redfox, NightmareChild8, and The three quarter demon.**

**and last but not least Reviews by Py687****, The three quarter demon, spac3 m0nk3y, SlEePiNgCoMfOrTaBlY, and NightmareChild8 **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of this except my OCs and ideas.  
**

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Rachel fell to her knees in shock. _"No. He can't be."_ Just then, her suit detected a sudden spike in Phazon energy. _"Please be safe, Chris… "_

The Elite took a few steps backwards, searching for movement before turning around and stomping off towards the main research building.

"You know, you should never turn your back on the enemy. It could be the last thing you do." The Elite whipped around, looking for the voice. The dust settled, revealing Chris crouching inside a transparent blue-tinted shield bubble. The Elite was confused; gone was his purple-suited enemy, replaced by a figure in a slim deep blue suit, the lights a brighter blue. The prominent feature that caught the Elite's attention was the visor. No longer was the large visor a light shade of green, but now it was a thin, T-shaped light blue visor.

Chris dropped his hand and the shield deactivated. He stood up and threw his left arm out.

"Solidify!" The grapple beam shot out five feet and remained solid, creating a Phazon sword. A laugh filled the air; it was cold and held no mercy. If the Elite had any fear it never showed. Bending his knees, Chris warned the Elite. "Defend yourself."

The Elite roared in response. It charged forward, raising an arm to smash Chris into the ground.

"I said defend, not attack. Stupid creature." Chris raised his phazon sword and the Elite brought its hand down. The tip pierced through its fist. Laughter filled the air once more. Chris traced the Elite's arm with the Phazon blade, cutting it in half length-wise. The Elite stumbled back, roaring in pain. Not wanting to waste the opening, Chris darted forward and slashed at the Elite's side as he went past. He faced back towards the Elite.

"Extend!" The Phazon grapple beam narrowed and shot forward, piercing the Elite through the back. The Elite dropped to its knees, the light slowly fading from its eyes.

"Oh no, you're not getting off that easy. Not after forcing me through one wall and imprinting me in another." Chris reformed the five-foot Phazon sword and ran forward. He jumped in the air and stabbed down.

A gasp made him look up. There stood Rachel, a hand covering the lower half of her visor. Chris pulled his hand up, the blade ripping out of the top of the Elite's head. He leapt off the corpse's back and strode towards Rachel.

Suddenly Chris stumbled, his hand clawing at his chest. A light blinded, Rachel forcing her to raise her arm and shield her face. When she could see again, there, kneeling in the dirt, was the familiar purple Gravity suit. Chris reached up, franticly trying to get his helmet off. It took a few tries but he succeeded before he started retching. Eerie dark blue fluid spilled out of his mouth.

"Is that…" She didn't finish her question.

Getting a pause in between puking Chris answered. "Yes, it's Phazon. Harmless now, but still Phazon."

When he finally stopped, Rachel helped him up. "Are you gonna tell me?"

Glancing at her, Chris replied. "Later. Let's go pick up that girl. We need to get to Australia before tomorrow night."

If she didn't have her helmet on Chris would have seen her surprised face. "Australia? Why there? What about yourself? I mean, you just puked up Phazon. That can't be good."

Making their way outside of the base, Chris replied. "That's where the second investigation point is. And don't worry about me, it happens every time I resort to using that."

"But what is it?" she asked looking at him.

Not meeting her gaze, he answered. "That's something I can't answer at this time."

Rachel only nodded, content for now. They gathered Morgan, the former captive of the Space Pirates, and set off for their "home."

They made it back to the firebase without further incident.

"Alright, we need to pack up and get going. The faster we leave the faster we can get to my living quarters in Australia. Get her some clothes and other things, she's coming with us," Chris told Rachel as he moved around, picking random things up and packing them into bags.

Confused, Morgan spoke up, looking at Rachel. "Australia? Why there? Why do I have to go?"

Rachel shooed her into the bedroom and began piling up clothes for all of them. "I don't know, but it's best we follow what Chris tells us. We'll find out more later."

Tilting her head to the side, Morgan continued to throw out questions. "But what's going on? Why was I at that place? Why is Chris out here? What is that suit he's wearing?"

Chris yelled from the other room. "Less talking and more packing!"

It took another thirty minutes to finish packing. Morgan continued to pester them both with questions until Chris's temper flared and he told her that he had no trouble leaving her there if she asked why she has to go one more time. They stood outside of the firebase as Chris closed it up and locked it down.

"There, all done. Now off to Australia. Gather around and close your eyes, we're going on three. 1…2…" Chris pulled out a small green device and set it on the ground.

"But why do we have to close our e..." Morgan was interrupted by Rachel covering her mouth and eyes as Chris said three and pressed a button on the device.

When Rachel opened her eyes, she found herself inside in what she would describe as a bachelor pad. A large screen TV, an open kitchen, and a joined dining room; a door leading to the master bedroom with a second one to a guest bedroom; a closet door or two thrown in there, providing places to put jackets or anything needing to be out of the way. All in all she liked the place, because unlike some other bachelor pads, this one was clean, almost too clean.

"Maverick keeps all of my other places tidy up while I'm away," Chris told her, as if reading her mind.

Not finding words Rachel only nodded and sat down on one of the large plush couches. Morgan took a seat next to her, deciding to wait to be told what to do next.

"Alright, so here's the plan," Chris said, bringing up a large map of Australia on a large white wall opposite to them. "We're here in Sydney. Our target is somewhere on the western side, specifically either Karlamilyi National Park or the Gibson Desert." Chris pointed out the two spots on the map. "This is going to be the longest part of my mission. Here's the Intel I know so far. Maverick discovered a very large power source here. Upon further inspection, namely borrowing a satellite, he found a number of buildings." Chris noticed Rachel looked a little pale. He would question her privately later.

Chris continued. "He was able to get pictures, and it gave us reason enough to want to find out what's going on. Any questions?"

Rachel spoke up. "How do we get there and back?"

"I have a vehicle and a driver's license."

Morgan looked skeptical. "You have a driver's license in Australia?"

"And in France, Germany and Russia." Chris said.

"So what kind of car do you have?"

Chris couldn't contain the grin spreading on his face. "First, let's get out of these suits, and I'll show you. Changing room is in my bedroom closet like last time. Maverick will assist you again. When you're done find me out front."

Chris went in and came back in jeans and a leather jacket over the Zero suit. After saying it was Rachel's turn he opened a door leading to his garage.

"Hey, what about me?" Morgan asked, a little put out.

"Come on then. You can get first look at my baby." Chris beckoned to her to follow.

Morgan jumped up and skipped after him, glad to be doing something other than sitting around all day. "Oh goody, toys."

Shaking his head in amusement Chris answered. "Yes it's a toy, just not something you can play with."

Morgan shrugged. "That's fine with me. At least I'm doing something."

Chris closed the door behind her and pressed a button to open the garage. As the light from outside lit up the inside it revealed, in Chris's eyes, a beauty of a car.

In the middle of the garage sat a 1969 dark blue Pontiac Firebird convertible. Every inch of the body was stock or as close to stock as possible. The only places on the body not blue are the front grill and the front windshield. On the back deck lid, painted in silver, was the Firebird symbol. The sides of the hood scoop read "720HP" in silver lettering.

Chris sighed. "Man, still as beautiful as the day I left here. How is she, Maverick?"

"**Gassed up and ready to go. She's in perfect working order."**

Chris walked around to the driver side and hopped in. He placed the key into the ignition and turned it. A deep guttural roar emanated from the engine block and the MagnaFlow exhaust.

"Sweet, sweet music, don't you agree?" he asked Morgan. She shook her head. Chris laughed. "I guess you're still too young to appreciate a classic."

Chris put the car in reverse and backed the car out of the garage, parking it in the driveway. He popped the hood and stepped out of the car, leaving it running. He lifted the hood and inspected the inner workings. Morgan wandered over. "So what does the 720HP stand for?"

"It lets other drivers know that my car can crank out around 720 horsepower."

"And how fast is that?"

"Fast enough that I would need new tires every week," Chris said with a chuckle.

Morgan gave him a deadpanned stare. Chris amended his answer. "150 miles per hour and up."

Morgan looked disbelieving. "That's got to be a joke."

"Want to see my last speeding ticket?"

"How fast were you going?"

Maverick answered. **"100 over the speed limit in a 65 mile per hour zone."**

Again, Morgan thought they were lying. She opened her mouth to tell Chris that but he cut her off. "How about I take you for a ride later, today or tomorrow. Then you'll see how fast it goes. But right now I'm going to take Rachel out and show her around town."

"Oh, alright." Morgan turned and walked back inside. Rachel passed Morgan, taking in her look, and walked over to Chris.

"What's up with her?"

Chris laughed a little. "She's mad that I'm not taking her for a ride. Well, get in, and I'll show you around." They got in and Chris motored the car out of the driveway and down the road. They spent time looking around town. Chris showed her good places to shop for clothes and food and a few places to sit and relax. They drove around for a couple of hours talking and seeing the sights. Chris suddenly broke the current conversation.

"Hey, you hungry?"

Rachel started. "Wait, what about Morgan?"

"Don't worry about her; Maverick will make sure she gets something." Chris reassured her. "Now, are you hungry? Cause I know some pretty good restaurants here. As long as they're still open," he added as an afterthought. He pulled into the parking lot of a place called "Chophouse."

"Here we are. This is my favorite place for dinner on occasion."

Rachel looked around the parking lot. "Umm, why do all the cars look so expensive?"

"Don't know. I never bothered to look."

They stepped out of the car and walked up to the front doors. Chris opened the door and let Rachel through first. A small crowd of people were waiting to be seated. Chris winked at Rachel before grabbing her hand and making his way through the crowd toward the hostess. Rachel was blushing too much to think why he took hold of her hand. The hostess looked up as Chris stood in front of her.

"Hello. Table for two."

The hostess looked at a table chart. "The wait is going to be twenty to thirty minutes. May I see some ID please? You two look a little young to be here."

Chris fished around in his pocket and retrieved his wallet. "Almost forgot." He handed her a card. "Will this be fine?"

The hostess paled. "Yes, sir, Mr. Hunter. Your table is ready." She called over a waiter and whispered instructions to him. He stood taller and beckoned for them to follow. He led them to a secluded section of the restaurant. Only a few couples or businessmen were present. The waiter seated them at a table next to a window. "Here are your menus. Can I offer you anything in advanced?"

"Yes, I'll have two fingers of your finest scotch and my friend will have…" Chris looked at her for a drink order.

"A coke is fine please."

Chris deadpanned. "Do you drink wine?"

Rachel shook her head. "No, never. But I would try some."

Chris looked over the wine list, then at the waiter. "A Grant Burge '94 will do perfectly."

"Glass or bottle, sir?"

"Bottle, of course."

The waiter wrote down their drink order and excused himself.

Rachel looked at Chris. "You know we're too young to drink. What did you show the hostess?"

Chris leaned back in his chair. "It's my get-anywhere-and-anything-I-want card. One of the perks of being known worldwide as the 'The Hunter,' the Defender of Peace or something like that. I don't know why I got it really," he said while making air quotes.

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "So you're a hero?"

He shrugged. "I don't like to be labeled that. Why do you think all of my places are hidden? It's so I don't have everyone and their grandmother busting down my door for one reason or another."

The waiter returned with their drinks. They place their orders. Once the waiter left, Chris took a sip of his drink and instructed Rachel on how to drink wine before asking, "So what do you think of the next part of this mission?"

Rachel, likewise, took a sip of her drink. She grimaced. "Not bad. Well, I don't know. I'd have a better answer after we did a recon mission. The pictures didn't show very much."

Chris nodded. "Do you know anything about military organizations?"

Rachel's eyes flicked towards the window and around her nervously. "Uh, should we be talking about this in a public restaurant?"

"Don't worry, everyone is out of earshot. And besides, no one else would care to listen to two teenagers talk." Chris set his glass down. "Same question. Do you know anything about military organizations?"

Rachel felt a little warm. She rubbed her hands together to dry them off. "Maybe. Depends on the organization."

His eye's never missed the signs of a very nervous person. "How about the Galactic Federation?"


End file.
